All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.

Flies

True flies (order Diptera) are an immense group with over 100,000 known species. They all have their hind pair of wings reduced to pin-shaped structures called halteres which act as gyroscopes to maintain balance in flight. Most feed on liquids, including nectar and blood.

The Dipterist's Forum offers a huge range of support for those interested in this group.

The families in the gallery below represent flies that are in the dipteran sub-orders Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha which are 'higher' flies, meaning later to evolve than the Nematocera which are displayed in the Craneflies, Gnats & Midges gallery. All families are displayed in taxonomic order. Note that Hoverflies (Syrphidae family) are displayed in a separate gallery.

Identification help

Facebook group: UK Diptera Facebook Group - great resource for posting images for national experts to comment on and identify.

Diptera.info - a forum site with reference photos but best used to get identification help.

Mike's Insect Keys - an excellent range of free illustrated keys to most fly families (and other taxon groups).

Dolichopodidae - Long-legged flies

LESOPS 50 - Dolichopodidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris

Platypezidae - Flat-footed flies

Most members of this family are woodland specialists associated with fungi. The best way to find them is to look out for their characteristic behaviour of running around quickly on leaves, often in circles. Search for them in autumn especially on Sycamore, but also Ivy, Oak and other species.

Phoridae - Hump-backed flies

Lonchopteridae - Spear-winged Flies

Micropezidae - Stilt-legged flies

The fore legs are markedly smaller than the other pairs. Mostly they are long-bodied

Psilidae - Rust flies

Conopidae - Thick-headed flies

Members of this family are often bee or wasp mimics. Those species that parasitise wasps are best searched for on large sunlit stands of flowering Ivy in the autumn.

LESOPS 38 - Conopidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris

Lonchaeidae - Lance flies

Pallopteridae - Trembling-wing Flies

Members of this family are known as trembling-wing flies because of the striking vibration of the wings in many species.

Piophilidae

Ulidiidae - Picture-winged flies

The larvae of most species in this family are scavengers on decaying organic matter. A few are plant feeders.

Platystomatidae - Signal flies

The wings of this family of flies are in almost constant motion, as though giving signals.